---
title: How common are premenstrual symptoms in women? | Niyora
description: Very common. About 70% of women reported mental symptoms in combination with body swelling. Premenstrual anxiety increased with age.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/premenstrual-complaints-i-prevalence-of-premenstrual-symptoms-in-a-swedish-urban-1986/
---

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- How common are premenstrual symptoms in women?

Survey study, 1986

# How common are premenstrual symptoms in women?

Very common. About 70% of women reported mental symptoms in combination with body swelling. Premenstrual anxiety increased with age.

 Moderate study design

1083 Swedish women in a random sample

## What they did

Researchers surveyed 1083 Swedish women chosen at random. They used a questionnaire with a scoring system to measure premenstrual symptoms. They looked at mental symptoms (irritability, sadness, anxiety) and physical symptoms (swelling in different body areas).

## What they found

Mental symptoms combined with body swelling were reported by 70% of women. Premenstrual anxiety was the only mental symptom that increased with age. Severity of symptoms was not affected by how many children a woman had or by abnormal cycle length. Absence from work during the premenstrual period was reported by a small number of women and was related to symptom severity.

## What it means for you

Premenstrual discomfort is very common and affects most women to some degree. The main limit is that this studied only Swedish women, so results might be different in other countries.

1083

women surveyed

70%

with mental symptoms and body swelling

## About the study

Original title Premenstrual Complaints. I. Prevalence of Premenstrual Symptoms in a Swedish Urban Population Authors B Andersch, Christer Wendestam, Lennart Hahn et al. Journal Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology Year 1986 Study design Survey study Participants 1,083 Read the paper [doi.org/10.3109/01674828609016741](https://doi.org/10.3109/01674828609016741)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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